Back in 2003, the Pacific Fisheries Research Conservation Council issued a number of recommendations, directed to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and BC’s Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Fisheries as well as the Canadian public. With its primary consideration related to the preservation of wild salmon stocks and how salmon farming may affect these stocks, these recommendations are the result of 3 years of investigations, deliberation, and extensive public debate.
It is worth reiterating that wild salmon must come first; they cannot be replaced. Their survival depends, in large part, on the actions we take and the care we exercise. Like other activities that impact wild salmon, aquaculture has to be managed with a view to limiting all sources of potential mortality. The wild Pacific salmon represents a significant part of our natural heritage that we are bound, by duty and conscience, to protect for future generations.The full report can be seen by clicking on the image below:
Advisory: Wild Salmon and Aquaculture in British Columbia
The recommendations were as follows:
Recommendation 1
The Council recommends that the precautionary principle should be applied in a much more
rigorous way than is currently used in the evaluation of interaction risks between farmed and
wild salmon stocks.
Recommendation 2
The Council urges the aquaculture industry and governments to undertake a wide-ranging
research and monitoring program on wild/farmed salmon interaction, and develop means and
practices to mitigate farming impacts.
Recommendation 3
The Council urges the Government of Canada to proceed immediately to formulate and
implement a comprehensive wild salmon policy that explicitly states that wild salmon will be
given priority in government decision-making.
Recommendation 4
The Council recommends that government supervision and regulation of wild and farmed salmon,
especially for fish health and disease surveillance, should be integrated into single-bay or area
management units.
Recommendation 5
The Council is proposing the creation of a Salmon Aquaculture Forum, including a multi-
stakeholder scientific panel, to build public consensus about the future direction of the industry
and identify ways to reduce the risk to wild salmon from British Columbia’s netcage aquaculture
operations.
